When he heard the explanation from his grandfather Vanroc, he understood its meaning. He had never thought about such a thing and always considered the information in the papers to be completely true. When Vanroc thought about it, he remembered his grandfather's words. He knew that this lesson would be very important because he now saw the other books and papers he had read so far in a different light.

Vanroc began to question himself. Was the knowledge he had acquired in the past real?

His thoughts were interrupted by his grandfather's voice: "Do you have any questions about the content?"

While thinking through the content he had just read, a question came to his mind: "In the papers, there was something about the 'Awakening Ritual'. Did you and Dad have one? When will I have mine?"

The old man was silent for a moment. That was a subject he usually tried to avoid for a special reason. With an unrecognizable facial expression, he replied in a calm tone: "First you have to know that not everyone gets an awakening ritual. There are several conditions that must be met.

First, you must be at least fifteen, but not more than fifty years old.

Second, you must have a certain amount of magic in your body.

Third, you need a large amount of money for the participation fee.

Because of the three conditions, seventy percent of all people on this continent are unable to use magic. They live a normal life without magic. Those who want to become adventurers learn to fight with normal weapons."

The old man breathed deeply. He seemed hesitant to continue.

One minute of silence filled the room, then he began to speak again: "Back when I was fifteen, I had my ritual. The ritual was successful and I could learn how to use magic.

Because of my abilities, I was advised to join the army. I did that six years later.

After many years in the army, I quit because of an injury. Since then I no longer use magic. That is also the reason why you have never seen me use magic.

Back when your father was sixteen years old, he received his awakening ritual. It was as successful as mine. After he had learned how to use magic, he.... "

Before the old man could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a knocking sound. Both Vanroc and his grandfather could hear the sound of a horse through the open window.

The sound and the knocking seemed to come from the front door.

Vanroc knew a guest would come to meet his grandfather today, but from his point of view, he came at the worst possible time. He really wanted to hear the full answer because his grandfather had always avoided such a subject.

The old man stood up from the table and said: "It seems that my guest arrived a little earlier than expected. We'll talk later."

Vanroc nodded and followed him to the front door to open it and let the guest in.

When he opened the door, a middle-aged man with short brown hair stood in front of them. He was wearing an army uniform.

Vanroc recognized this man. He had seen him a few years ago when his father was home for a few days. At that time this man was under the command of his father and accompanied him. This was necessary because the village is surrounded by forest and mountains with bandits and monsters.

Usually, when someone wants to leave the village, they wait for a caravan of merchants, patrolling soldiers or adventurers to pass by. So they don't have to be afraid of being hurt or robbed. Due to the fact that Vanroc's father was a high-ranking military, it was not surprising that he had someone by his side to take care of his safety.

The middle-aged man had a smile on his lips when he was the first to say something while looking at both of them: "It's been a while since we last met."

When Vanroc heard his voice, he was surprised that his deep voice did not match his appearance and memory. From his appearance, one would expect a slightly deeper voice, but not so deep.

Thinking about it, Vanroc heard the voice of his grandfather standing behind him: "You are a little earlier than expected, Mister Herwand".

Vanroc heard this name and remembered how his father introduced him to this soldier. His full name was Gwydo Herwand, who was a subordinate of his father during his lifetime.

"Well, I had a good horse", said Gwydo as he scratched the back of his head and laughed.

Then he turned his eyes to the boy in front of him and said, "You've really grown since we last met. You were at least one head smaller back then."

When he heard that, Vanroc began to smile, although he didn't know why he was doing so. He was thinking about a good answer, but before he could choose one, he heard his grandfather's voice again: "Come and let's go to the kitchen and have a cup of tea."

Then he led the middle-aged soldier to the kitchen, started boiling the water and asked him to wait a moment. Then he went into the living room into which Vanroc went before, after he had closed the front door.

When he took out a small leather pouch, he asked: "Vanroc, can you please buy some meat for dinner?

Vanroc took the pouch, went to the door and answered, "Okay, I'll be back soon."

After Vanroc closed the front door, the old man returned to the kitchen where his guest was waiting for him.

Arriving in the kitchen, he prepared tea for himself and his guest and asked him: "How was your trip?

When he replied while accepting his cup of hot tea, he replied: "The trip went very well, I didn't meet or hear any monsters, it seems the area isn't as dangerous as it was a few years ago".

"It's just your imagination, it's still as dangerous as it was in the years before, you just got lucky this time."

After the old man took a sip of tea from his cup, he continued: "You should know why I asked you to come here, right? Do you still have it?"

Based on his expression, Gwydo didn't seem surprised by his words: "Yes, of course! Why do you ask, are you sick or something?"

The old man looked at the man opposite with a serious look in his eyes. "I feel my old wounds getting worse again. I think I can hold out for a few more years. It would be too early to leave him alone."

"These wounds are probably from that time. It is still hard to believe that the man with the holy title "The magical butcher of the will, Imodi Mirai" fights against time like we normal people. Your achievements are still known to many soldiers. Does the little boy know about your past?"

When he heard his old title, he began to smile slightly. He was torn between pride and shame when he heard the man talk about his past achievements.

In his years of military service he had helped many people, but had also taken far too many lives. He despised himself for it. That was one of the reasons why he hadn't used magic since his retirement. He had used this power to harm others. So that he could find his inner peace, he had decided to leave magic behind with his time in the army.

"No, he knows nothing about my past. I would prefer if it stays that way.

That is also one reason why I asked him to go shopping. It is better for him if he knows nothing about my past and his mother's background. Since my son entrusted it to you for safekeeping, I assume you know about the whole situation, don't you?

Gwydo shook his head slightly and replied: "No, I don't know the whole story. He just told me that if something happened to him and you weren't there anymore, I should give it to his son. I should not discuss it with anyone but you or even mention it, otherwise I would endanger his son. Based on how the church reacted after his death, it doesn't surprise me. Without your help, it would probably have turned out badly."